Endless elevator



1,558,300 M. SEARLES ENDLESS ELEVATOR Filed Dec. 11. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mam m Q ,J

Oct. 20, 1925- M. SEARLES ENDLESS ELEVATOR Filed Dec. 11. 1922 Patented Oct. 20, 1925.

UNITED TESF'PATENT O FFICE.

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Application fled December To all wlwm it may concern:

Be it known vthatI, Manama Sm mas, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda, State of California, have invented a new and useful Endless Elevator, of which the following is a s ecification in such full and clear terms as w' enable those skilled in the art to construct and use the same.

This invention-relates to an endless elevator especially adapted to the piling of sacks and boxes in high piles, and one of the objects of the invention is to provide means whereby the boxes or sacks handled thereby will be properly delivered from the elevator at the top ofthe same.

n; will be understood by those skilled in lessof the fact that-the elevator run must be adjusted, from time to time, due to slackness of the chains making u the elevator. The

' result of this is that the ischarge roller must be carried at a fixed distance from the roller at the top of the elevator run regardless of its adjustment, and this object is attained in the present invention, by carrying the dis charge roll along with the adjustingmeans. Another object of the present invention is to provide means whereby the elevator run may be raised or lowered by power without danger of seriously injuring any part of the apparatus, if the, workmen neglect to supply it at the precise moment that it should be supplied, or if it is not cut off when it should be. Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the shaft transmitting power to the elevator lifting apparatus will make use of but one thrust bearing for either lifting or lowering the elevator run.

Another ob'ect of the invention is to provide means w ereby the elevator run will be held at any given elevation by the gears opcutting it unless the workmen positively operates the gearing to raise or lower it.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

- An embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which the 11, um. Serial m5. eoe'asv.

same referenoenumeral is applied to the same portion throughout, but I am aware that there ma be modifications thereof.

Fig. 1 18 a ongitudinal sectional view of the complete apparatus, I

Fig. 2. is a s de elevation of the top of the elevator frame showing the package discharge roller,

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the elevator with a portion of the endless chain run broken,

away for the purposes of illustration.

Fig. 41s a plan view of the roller at the top of the elevator run, and

Fig. dis a side elevation of the friction bevel gears used for raising and lowering the elevator.

The apparatus comprises a rectangular truck having two longitudinally extending stringers. together by means of suitable cross-bars 3 to 6 inclusive. Gusset plates 7 to 10 inelusive arerconnected to the side members and cross members 3 and 6 at their corners 'to stiffen the frame, and to form suitable bearings for the castor wheels 11 to 14.- inelusive. The ends of the side members 1 and 2 overhang the rear castor wheels and are connectedto the endless elevator frame by These stringers are connected means of two bearings 15 and 16, said bearings being applied on the lower end of the angle frame built u of the side members 17 and 18. The pair of members are connected togetherby suitable diagonal bracing 19 and other suitablerectangular bracing, as indicated at 20.

.At the forward end of the frame there are .two posts 21, 22 connected to suitable braces 23, 24, and connected together by 34 which eye-bolts are connected to two turn buckles 35 in turn connected to two eye bolts 36,. The eye-bolts are connected} to the shackle of a single pulley 37, in each side of the frame. 1

A cable 38, on each side of the truck frame, has one end secured thereto, as indicated at 39 and the other end of the cable passes around a drum 40, another drum 41 being alsoprovided at the other side of the machine for the other cable 38.

The drums 40, 41 are mounted rigidly upon a shaft 42 and said shaft also has a pair of bearings 43, and 44 around the same adjacent the worm wheel 45.

The two bearings 43, 44 are connected together by a plate 46 and which plate is connected to the underside of the cross-bar 3. This plate also carries two bearings 46, 47 for a short shaft 48, and it has a worm 49 in mesh with the worm-wheel 45. This shaft also has a universal joint 50 to connect it with another shaft 51, on the end of which is a bevel friction wheel 52.

The shaft 51 passes through a bearing 53 pivotally mounted on the underside of the cross-bar 4. At about the middle of the frame there is a shaft 54 suitably journaled in said frame and said shaft carries the drive pulley 55, two bevel pulleys 56, 57, a sprocket gear 58 and clutch 59.

The clutch 59 is operated by a bell-crank lever 60 connected to a rod 61, which rod is in turn connected to the operating handle62,

I the latter pivotally mounted on the side member 1.

It will be seen that the two bevel wheels 56, 57 are as close to the wheel 52 as it is possible to place them and still permit them to ride free normally.

Between the shaft 42 and the shaft 54 there is another shaft 63. This shaft has the s rocket wheel 64 thereon and a sprocket whee 65 The latter sprocket wheel has a chain 66 extending therefrom to the endless elevator drive sprocket 67 on the shaft 68, saidshaft also extending througlr'the bearings 15, 16 but carrying no other load than the load necessary to operate-the endless chains 69, 70.

An endless sprocket chain 58' extends from the sprocket wheel 58 to the sprocket wheel 64 and drives the latter.

At the front of the machine there are two longitudinally extending sills 80, 81'

has a long lever 89 rigidly connected there with. This lever extends across the frame and terminates over the longitudinally extending frame member 1. Connected with this lever is a rod 90 with a' hand grip portion 91, at its end adjacent the handle 62,

The length of the lever 89 is so considerable that it gives the workmen sufiicient leverage to push the bevel friction wheel 52 into engagement with either the wheel 56 or 57 to raise or lower the elevator carrying frame, and since the torque on the shaft 42, due to the weight of the apparatus is resisted by the worm wheel and worm 49, and regardless of whether the workmen happens to hold the wheel 52 in engagement with the wheels 56, 57 too lon he cannot injure the apparatus because when the apparatus reac es the end of its allowed movement, the frictions will slip.

The side frames 17 of the elevator are connected by any suitable floor 100 which terminates adjacent the u per sprocket shaft 101. This s rocket sl faft carries two sprocket whee s 102, 103 and the shaft is 'ournaled in two bearings 104, 105 which earings are in turn flexibly sup orted by two fixtures 106, 107, each with epending lugs 108, 109.

An adjusting screw'110 passes through each of the depending lugs 108, 109 and has a lu 111 at its upper end passing through a ho e in a short angle-bar 112, which connects the upper member 17 with the lower member 18 at their upper ends.

Immediately at the rear. of the screw 110 there is a short angle-bar 113 connecting the upper and lower member 17, 18, and the two angle members 112, 113 are slotted tov receive a bar 114, said bar being also connected to the lug 108 so that said bar moves along with the member 106.

At its upper end bar 114 is bent upwardly as shown in 115, and the roller 116 is journaled thereon. On the opposite side of the frame a bar 114' supports the other end of the roller 116, and is connected to the bearing support 107 in the same way as the bar shown in Fi 2.

- On the si e of the member 17 between the two angle bars 112, 113 there is secured an angle bar 120. This bar is slotted to allow the set-bolt 121 to move as the bearin fixture 106 moves when the slack of the c ains 69, 70 is taken up.

In order to provide means for pulling objects, such as sacksorboxesup the inclined plane, the chains 69, 70 are connected by means of a plurality of bars 122, said bars having wheels 123, 124 at their ends which ride upon the top of the upper angle bars 17.

What I claim is as follows, but various modifications may be made in the construction shown in the drawings and above particularly described form, within the purview of my invention:

1. An elevating machine comprising an inclined support, endless chains passing over said support, flights connecting said chains to carry packages up the incline, adjustable sprocket wheels at the top of the incline a fixed distance from the sprocket wheels at the top of the incline in all adjustments thereof, said support being movable with the adjustment of the sprocket wheels and each bar having a double support in-the inclined frame.

i 4 2. In an elevating machine the combination with an inclined support of a pair of sprocket chains passing thereover,-flights connecting said sprocket chains to car packages up the incline, sprocket wheels at the top of the incline over which the chains 15 pass, a discharge roller over which the packes pass when leavin the chains, means to just the chain sproc ets atthe top of the incline and slidable arms connected with said adjusting mechanism for supporting 20 the discharge roller at a fixed distance from the chain sprockets at all positions of the adjustment of said chain sprockets said arms being slidahle with the sprocket wheels.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set 2 my handthis QOthday of November "A. D.

. MAI LER SEARLES. 

